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Russian Psy-Ops continue to Target Pakistan

The Nation may have pulled down its story on Husain Haqqani, but Russian psy-ops operatives continue to target Pakistan.

Prominent among them is Adam Garrie of Eurasia Futures fame,
the same person whom NP has written about consistently in the last two years.
In 2018 Eurasia Futures had to issue an
apology to Jang Group over false allegations related to Cambridge
Analytica. In 2019 Garrie wrote a piece
praising Imran Khan as best Prime Minister Since Quaid e Azam.

As an expose of Adam Garrie, carried out by the Washington
Examiner shows, “A unique hybrid of Ceaser Flickerman (from the
“Hunger Games”) Withnail (from Withnail and I), and a fat Sherlock
Holmes, Garrie is someone who wants to be noticed.” Titled ‘Adam
Garrie, or how Russian propagandists play their game,’ The Washington
Examiner story argues “Russia loves folks who can go onto its propaganda
networks and spew Kremlin talking points in English.”

Further,
“Garrie’s performance was a true gem. Not for any analytical substance, but
rather in the insight it provides us on Russian propaganda messaging towards
the West. Garrie begins by explaining how the United States is “no longer
a democracy,” but instead a kleptocracy. Here we see the Kremlin’s
never-ending effort to spread scorn about American political credibility and
social stability.” As The Wash
Examiner story points out “It’s all nonsense, of course, but the Russians
know all they have to do is persuade one more viewer to become just a little
bit more disillusioned. They’re in this for the long game. And while their tactics
might be simple, they’re also extremely clever.”

Just recently Adam Garrie wrote a piece titled ‘Pakistanis
Confuse Enlightened Despotism For Presidential Systems,’ in which on the
one hand he undertakes Russian Psy ops targeting democracies especially
Presidential ones (like the US) arguing that “presidential systems are the
least efficient, most corruptible, most prone to deadlock, most conflicted and
the most pseudo-democratic.” Ironic that a Russian psy ops operative would
target Presidential systems as that is what Russian is itself!

Turning to Pakistan, Garrie argues that Pakistan’s
problem is not the parliamentary system as much as its leaders. “the fault
lies with the fact that so-called strongman presidents (the worst of which was
Musharraf) have often subsumed power during times of crisis and in so doing,
they suspended the normal operations of the parliament – thus stunting the
nation’s political development in the process. This has allowed dynastic
political mafias masquerading as normal political parties to take turns
monopolising rule during times when a fledgling and immature parliamentary
system has been restored. In this sense, Pakistan’s parliamentary system has
not been allowed to develop properly because of multiple presidential figures
who have interrupted the natural course of its development.”

According to Garrie what
Pakistan needs is “a strong patriotic party political system was able to
take the place of the corrupt dynastic mafioso party political system that has
for decades been dominant in Pakistan, true progress could be made. This ought
to be the goal of those who seek the stability of enlightened despotism without
its clear drawbacks. Instead of one enlightened individual, proper
parliamentary systems allow for enlightened groups of individuals to form
meritocratic and patriotic parties that lead to vastly more sustainable
progress and stability than even the best versions of enlightened despotism
ever could do.”

So Garrie calls for Pakistan to create “a
new military-police force ought to be formed to enforce anti-corruption
laws with all the vigour and professionalism of the Army and ISI.” And for
there to be “a High Council of Foreign Affairs And Regional Security. Such a
Council would be comprised of a combination of highly patriotic independent
experts, military commanders, ISI officials, some elected members of the
National Assembly, representatives of all provinces and a small number of
directly elected individuals. All and all, the Council ought to start with 15
members with the aim to expand as credible, strategic and intelligent patriotic
voices rise to the fore.”